Alone and on the run
by Summerset banjo
Summary: Twilight Sparkle is on the run. After discovering a conspiracy that threatens the lives of Princess Cadance and herself. Twilight Sparkle is alone. After learning that her friends and family are being replaced one by one with changelings. Twilight Sparkle is alone and on the run.
1. Part 1

**ALONE AND ON THE RUN**

**STORY BY** Summerset banjo  
**EDITED BY** EppogirlXD & Aktress

Under the cold night sky of the Everfree Forest, a lone, exhausted unicorn sits down next to a tree trunk, and using her horn, she emits a small amount of light allowing her to see the saddlepack she brought with her. Opening it up she sets a small, audio cassette recorder, on the tree trunk and reaching out with her bandaged foreleg, she pushes a button to turn it on.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I don't know who's going to listen to this. I don't even know if I'm going to be alive in the next few hours. But I've got to tell the world the truth about what's happened in the last few days. I'm not sure when I noticed that things began going wrong, but I think it was the day after the party. It has been nearly three weeks since we returned from the Crystal Empire. Pinkie Pie thought that celebrations should be in order for finding the Crystal Heart and stopping Sombra. At the party I had a little too much apple cider, so I left the party early and crashed at Rarity's home for the night…"

* * *

_"…It was around five in the morning when I got up."_

Twilight Sparkle woke up in Rarity's spare bedroom, and looking at the alarm clock, she saw it was 5:30 am. "Did I have to wake up this early?" she groaned.  
Hearing some noise in the kitchen she got up and entered the kitchen. There at the table was Rarity having breakfast.

"What are you doing up so early?" asked Twilight while pouring cereal for herself.

Briefly glancing up at Twilight, Rarity responded, "I have a lot of work today. Thought I should get an early start."

"At five thirty in the morning?" said Twilight in surprise while pouring milk into the cereal.

"I have several dresses that need to be designed, made, and shipped out of here before sundown."  
Rarity's cat crept into the room. Twilight looked over to the cat and smiled. "Good morning, Opal. How are you this morning?" She reached over to pet the small cat but Opal hissed and tried to scratch at her before running off.

She looked at Rarity with surprise. "What did I do to deserve that?"

Rarity just scowled and said. "It's just a phase, Twilight. She doesn't mean it."

"Huh?"

"Don't let it bother you." Rarity got up to put her dishes away in the sink.  
Twilight was nearly finished with breakfast when she asked another question. "What time did you leave the party?"

Rarity went over to a small work table near the kitchen and started doing some sketch work on some papers. "I don't know. Late. I didn't want to wake you."

Twilight got up and put the cereal bowl in the sink, then used her horn to open a cabinet to put the cereal box away. "I was tired. I guess going to a party after returning from Canterlot took a lot more out of me than I thought."

Rarity stopped working on the sketches and looked up at Twilight with sudden interest. "What did they have you do up there?"  
"In Canterlot? Well mostly they had me look over the new security measures the guards there had put in place for the negotiations, as we don't want Cadance's return be as eventful as her wedding. I wish my brother was there yesterday. He would have had a field day."

Rarity suddenly got up and started gathering her sketch papers. "I need to get going, to gather the materials I need."  
"Since you're busy, don't worry about taking Sweetie Belle to school, I'll take her when it's time," said Twilight.

Rarity walked over to the base of the stairs. "Don't bother; I'm taking her with me. Sweetie Belle!"

"To school? When you're rushing around getting dress material? That doesn't make sense." Twilight asked, confused over Rarity's strange behavior.

"Cheerilee wants to talk to me and Sweetie Belle about her falling grades."

"Rarity it's only now six o'clock! Teachers don't talk to students this early."

Rarity just shrugged. "I guess Cheerilee wanted to do it while her mind was still fresh."

"If you say so…" Twilight started heading towards the front door. "I guess I'll head back to my home now."

"See you later... Sweetie Belle, come on!"

On her way back to the library, Twilight spotted a couple of guards from Canterlot looking around and talking to one another. She approached the two. "May I help you two?"

The guard on the right spoke up. "We're just finding spots to construct security checkpoints."

The guard on the left then spoke up. "We need to be ready if any problems come up when Cadance visits this town, after the talks in Canterlot are finished, Miss Sparkle."

"But I thought the plan was to wait, until my brother arrives to look over the security for the summit, before we start to implement it," Twilight said, surprised.

The guard on the right spoke up again. "The Commander didn't feel that we should wait for Shining Armor."  
"But that's not the plan that everypony agreed upon yesterday. Why is Commander Tri-Star changing the security arrangements?" Twilight said with growing frustration.

The guard on the left stared at Twilight for a moment before speaking. "We're only following orders. You will have to talk to the Commander about the change in plans; he's currently at the town square."

"I most certainly will," muttered Twilight walking past the two guards.  
Quickly, Twilight arrived at the town square and spotted Tri-Star walking towards the town hall. She started to approach him, but stopped in her tracks when witnessing the strange sight before her. Rarity walked out of the town hall and greeted Tri-Star before the both of them went back inside.

_"This was when I realized that everyone was acting a little odd, from Rarity's bizarre behavior to Tri-Star's sudden change of plans I just chalked it up to a bad mane day, I mean who could've guessed what was really going on at that point…?"_

* * *

_Snap!_

"Huh?! What was that?!" Twilight whispered in a panic before turning off the audio recorder.

Dimming the light from her horn, she listened carefully for any other noise of movement. Seconds passed and no other sound was heard. She cast a spell that detected nearby life. There was nothing but a small animal.

Twilight turned the audio recorder back on. "When I saw that I missed my chance to talk to Tri-Star, I decided to head back to the library, still puzzled on why Rarity was at the town hall talking to Tri-Star instead of getting those dress materials or taking her sister to school. I did not know at that point that I would soon loose Spike…"

* * *

_"It was at the library around eight when I got the heart-breaking news."_

Twilight opened the library door, taking note how it seemed to be cleaner than usual. "Spike, are you here?"

"I'm up here, Twilight," said Spike from the living quarters. Spike sounded upset, and Twilight knew something was wrong.

Twilight climbed up the stairs to the library bedrooms and reaching the top of the stairs she saw the baby dragon packing items away in a small suitcase. "Spike, what are you doing?"

Spike looked up at Twilight with sorrowful eyes. "I'm leaving Twi; I'll probably never see you or this town again."

Twilight walked over to Spike with a worried expression on her face. "What are you talking about?"

Spike sat down on the bed. "I got a letter saying that my services here are no longer needed, and that I have to return to Canterlot, to be reassigned to a new pony."

"What?! Let me see this letter!" Twilight yelled, in complete shock.

Spike reached inside the suitcase and pulled out the letter. "Here it is."

Twilight used her magic to pull the letter out of Spike's grasp and began to study the letter intensely. "I can't believe this." Twilight set the letter down. "It's authentic. Written and signed by the Princess herself," Twilight said with sadness in her voice. She sat down on the bed next to Spike and held him close.

"Twi, please don't tell the others that I'm leaving. It's hard enough to say goodbye to you without… _sniff_." Tears were starting to form in Spike's eyes.

"I understand," Twilight said softly.

"Twilight… can you walk with me to the train, when I'm finished packing?"

Twilight looked down at Spike. He could see a single tear run down her cheek as she looked at him. "Sure."

Spike got off the bed and went back to packing the suitcase.

_"I kept my word and did not tell anypony about Spike's departure until after he was already on the train."_

"It's too bad I'll never be able to tell Rarity how much I truly loved her," Spike said looking out the train car window. "Promise you'll keep the library in one piece, Twi?"

Nodding, Twilight gave Spike a hug. "Spike, I promised that I would never get rid of you, and I'm going to keep my word. The next time I have an audience with Celestia, I will talk to her about getting you back with me." She said with determination ringing through her voice. He looked away from the window and shook his head.  
"It's not going to make a difference. Celestia herself sent that letter, she's not going change her mind."

"Everypony that doesn't have a ticket needs to leave the train now. We will be leaving in a few moments." the conductor announced.

"Well I guess you need to leave now. Goodbye, Twilight. I'm sure going to miss being with you." Spike said to Twilight and hugged her one last time before Twilight left Spike's side and trotted out of the train. She got off the train stopping for a moment to wipe a tear away from her cheek.

She stood on the station platform watching as other ponies got off the train. Looking down the length of the train She saw something odd going on at one of the freight cars. Further down the platform stood Rarity and Applejack, busy loading some unmarked crates on to one of the train's freight cars. Twilight walked towards the two but stopped when Pinkie Pie appeared in her path.  
"Hiya Twilight! Why were you helping Spike onto the train?"

Twilight looked over past Pinkie Pie and saw that Applejack and Rarity were eyeing both of them suspiciously before going back to loading the unmarked crates. "Spike's leaving us for good. Pinkie, he's being transferred to work with a new pony."

"Well that's silly. Why didn't Spike tell anyone that he was leaving. I could've given him a farewell par-"

"He didn't want anyone to know, Pinkie!" Twilight said sharply before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Sorry… It's just that Spike's been with me for so long. It's hard to see him go."

Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight for a moment before saying, "Come by the Sugar Cube tomorrow night, I'll fix you dinner. It will make you feel better."

"All aboard!" the conductor yelled, before the train started rolling down the tracks. "Thanks Pinkie, I'll take you up on that."

"Oh goodie." Pinkie ran off in excitement and when Twilight looked at where Rarity and Applejack were at they were gone.

_"I stayed at the train station for a while, watching the train slowly roll down the tracks until it was far off in the distance. It was sadly the last I saw of Spike, I eventually left to go back home when I ran into to Commander Tri-Star."_

"I was told you wanted to speak with me, Miss Twilight, and from what I heard you were a little upset," said the unicorn guard.

"Yes, I am," replied Twilight.

"Well you have every right to be, Miss Twilight. I'm sorry, but I decided to accelerate security preparations here, as I felt that this town was less secure than Canterlot and it would be better to have everything in place before your brother looked it over instead of after. I guess I forgot to inform you of the change of plans." He smiled apologetically.

"Yes, well I like to stay in the loop."

"It's getting late, I'll walk you back to your house," offered Tri-Star.

"Sure." Twilight nodded in agreement.

"I've read over your report on the Crystal Empire delegates again. They seem to be quite concerned with security."

"They're probably just little paranoid, it's been 1,000 years since they left the empire and visited another land. So it's a bit intimidating for them to acclimated to modern society.

"Is there anything else I should know about them?"

"No. But you were there at the security meeting yesterday, so you should know all about them."

"I'm talking about stuff not put in reports."

"What do mean?"

"You know, the kind of things we don't include in reports but might be useful for security."

"I'd have to give it some thought…" She paused for a moment before continuing. "I…guess…there's one thing you should know, Princess Cadance used to be my foal sitter, and since I was the one that helped get her out of the caves she probably trusts me over most ponies."

"Hmm… That might be helpful to know," Tri-Star said deep in thought before continuing. "Tomorrow everypony in Ponyville will be undergoing a medical examination. Before I leave tomorrow I need you to do a job for me."

"What kind of job?"

"Well, your report on Changelings has disappeared earlier today, so I need you to send me another copy before I leave."

"Tri-Star, that thirty page report was the only copy I made. How did you lose it?

"Can you write the paper again?" asked Tri-Star, ignoring her question.

"I can, but it's going take a while. Are you sure you can't find it?"

"Positive. You can hand me this report around one in the afternoon tomorrow I…argh!" Tri-Star stumbled with pain for a moment holding a hoof to his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Twilight said with concern.

Tri-Star gave a reassuring smile to Twilight. "Nothing, it's just a headache, been getting them on and off all day, probably due to stress…what I was going to tell you? Oh well, maybe it will come to me later… That's your house up ahead. I need to return to the town hall now." Tri-Star turned to leave.

"Wait, one last thing before you go. I saw you talking to one of my friends today. Her name is Rarity. May I ask what she wanted to talk to you about?"

He stood there for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry but that name doesn't ring a bell. Oh well, good day Miss Twilight."

_"Tri-Star was telling the truth about one thing at least: the Changeling report was indeed missing. I quickly set to work on making a new paper based on my notes. As I wrote I couldn't help but think that this was going to keep me busy for the rest of the day. When I finally finished it in the early hours of the morning I realized how quiet and lonely the library felt without Spike being there. The next day I went to the hospital to get examined."_

"I've been here for over two hours now. Are all the tests on me done?" asked Twilight with an annoyed tone.

"All that's left is a blood sample and then you'll be done," responded the Nurse setting out a small tray containing the syringe and several empty vials.

"Good. I have to send in a report to Tri-Star as soon as I can leave here." Twilight said feeling a bit relived from the news.

"Ok, stick your right foreleg forward," said the Nurse while preparing the syringe.

Twilight looked at the nurse and noticed a look of worry on the Nurse's face. "Is there something wrong? Is it my health?"  
The nurse prepped part of the leg for the blood test. "You so far have a clean bill of health…" The nurse poked Twilights leg with the syringe and started to withdraw blood from it. Twilight only mildly grunted at the slight pain of it. "…What's really bothering me is that yesterday afternoon some of our medical supplies were stolen. Nopony has seen anyone taking the supplies. It just simply vanished without a trace."

"What supplies were taken?" Twilight asked with curiosity.

"Well as far as I know they took several tranquilizers, a field medical bag, and a few other items," said the nurse removing the needle and applying a bandage. "All right we're all done. You can take that bandage off in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Nurse." Twilight left the room and went into the lobby, which was filled to capacity with ponies from the youngest to the oldest. Almost everyone in Ponyville seemed to be in the lobby waiting to get examined, and after working her way through the crowd she made it outside.

"Hi, Twilight!" said somepony behind her. Turning around she saw it was Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle." Greeted Twilight.

"May I talk to you?" Sweetie Belle asked politely.

"Uh… Sure but you'll have to follow me. I'm in a hurry." Twilight started walking towards the town hall with Sweetie Belle following close behind.

"Twilight, I would like to have you teach me magic." Sweetie Belle said looking hopefully at Twilight.

"Really? Isn't your sister already teaching you how to use your horn?"

"Yes, but most of her knowledge is based around dressmaking, I want a broader range of skills if it will help me get my cutie mark."

"Learning magic is not as easy as it sounds. It takes time and effort to learn even some of the most basic of spells. Are you sure?" asked Twilight. She wanted to be certain that this is what the little foal wanted to do.

"Yes, I'm sure." Sweetie Belle said with resounding confidence.

"Okay I'll have to talk to your sister first, before I take you on as an apprentice. Besides it's a chance to be able help you with your failing grades." Twilight said with a smile.

The young filly looked at Twilight, confused. "But my grades are fine Twi. In fact I was given an A plus yesterday."

_"It was at this moment when I realized that there was something definitely suspicious going on with Rarity, so I decided to find out what I could from Sweetie Belle."_

"On second thought, how about you have dinner with me tonight at the Sugar Cube Corner. We can discuss your internship there."

"Oh that would be great!" Sweetie Belle was almost giddy with excitement.

Twilight looked around to see if anyone was watching before leaning close to the small foal. "Sweetie Belle, did anything unusual happen when I was gone at that meeting in Canterlot?"

"Sweetie Belle!" A blue blur swooped down in front of the two. It was the pegasus, Rainbow Dash.

"I'm glad I found you. Rarity's been looking for you. She's back at her house now waiting to talk to you. It seems to be important."

"See you later." Sweetie Belle ran off towards Rarity's house.

"Hey Rainbow Dash can I talk to you for a…"

"Can't. Gotta go bye." Dash said abruptly before flying off.

Twilight just sighed with disappointment before reaching the town hall. In front of the town hall stood a royal guard. Twilight approached him. "Excuse me, but may I speak to Commander Tri-Star?"

"I'm sorry, but he's not here."

"What?"

"He left for Canterlot last night."

"But he told me to meet him here today! Uggh." Twilight grunted with disgust. "Fine! I will send it to him by mail." Twilight marched off to the post office.

_"It took me the better part of the day to get the package delivered, from long lines to trying to get the report to fit inside the package. It definitely made me wish I still had an assistant. When I was done I saw it was time for dinner with Pinkie Pie. It was at the Sugar Cube Corner, when I started to learn of the threat that Equestria now faces."_

Twilight arrived at Sugar Cube Corner she noticed that the store was closed. She knocked on the door of the pastry shop. After waiting for a moment, she knocked again. "Come on Pinkie, open the door." Twilight muttered under her breath.

The door slowly opened with Pinkie Pie standing just inside the shop. "I'm glad you made it Twilight! Come on in."

When Twilight entered she noticed the lights inside were dimmed giving the normally cheery shop a somewhat moody atmosphere.

"Hey Pinkie, why is the shop closed?" Twilight asked as Pinkie shut the door.

"I didn't want anypony to bother us when have our dinner. It's just a party of two after all." Twilight was surprised by Pinkie Pie's strangely serious tone of voice and attitude.

Clearing her throat she started to speak. "Um…Pinkie I invited Sweetie Belle over to have dinner with us so we may want to wait…"

"Don't worry about Sweetie Belle, Twilight. Rarity came by a few minutes ago telling me that she can't make it tonight. She isn't feeling well."

"Strange. She seemed fine a few hours ago." Twilight said following Pinkie Pie to the table. She suddenly realized the Cakes where nowhere in the shop. "Where are the Cakes?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

"They're…." Pinkie started to grin. "…in the basement playing with the babies, they didn't want to bother the party," she said still grinning. Her grin seemed somewhat off. The way she was smiling was starting to make Twilight feel uncomfortable.

_Ding!_ Something chimed in the kitchen. "I'll be right back." Pinkie Pie walked out of the room and into the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone Twilight got up and walked over to the flight of stairs that lead to the basement. Looking down she saw that it was pitch black down there and completely silent. Twilight started to feel quite nervous and she quickly hurried back to the table and sat down just in time for Pinkie to return with a single plate. She sat it down on the table in front of Twilight Pinkie then pulled up a chair and sat across from Twilight.

"Twilight, I understand how you feel losing a friend. I lost several friends myself when I moved here. Life's a party Twilight, but a party's no fun without friends." Pinkie Pie got up again and stepped into the kitchen briefly before returning with a tray full of cupcakes, setting them down on the table.

Twilight noticed there was only one plate on the table. "You forgot to set out a plate for yourself." Twilight said with a nervous grin.

"Not hungry." Pinkie said sitting back down across the table.

"Not…hungry?" Twilight said with disbelief.

"Yep. Had a late lunch." Pinkie Pie reached over picking up a cupcake and placed it on Twilight's plate.

"Here you go Twilight." She gave a broad smile.

Twilight was starting to sweat as she looked down at the cupcake before her. Nervously she looked back up and saw that Pinkie Pie was still sitting there staring at her. Twilight looked at the cupcake again, before bringing the plate closer to herself. She looked at Pinkie who was grinning even wider than before, clearly watching her every movement. Twilight's hoof was starting to shake as she started move it closer to the cupcake.

"How is it?" Pinkie asked, licking her lips with anticipation.

Twilight picked up the cupcake and stared at it for a moment before putting it back on the plate. "I think I should go home and lay down." Twilight got up from the table.

Pinkie's smile turned into a scowl. "You haven't eaten a bite," she said with growing anger in her voice.

Twilight gulped and tried to calm the angry mare. "I just don't seem to have an appetite right now."

Pinkie just sat there at the table glaring at Twilight as she walked out of the Sugar Cube Corner.

_"I don't know if there was anything wrong with the cupcake or not. But all I could think of, as I looked at her, was that this was not Pinkie Pie…"_

* * *

Twilight started coughing for a full minute before regaining composure. "I'm sorry. Where was I…? Oh yes. I did not get much sleep that night. The next day I started my search. I had no idea what I was looking for. Something odd, something not quite normal, anything to explain what might be going on."

* * *

Twilight finished putting the last spell book back on the shelf and wiped the sweat off her brow before picking up the checklist she made earlier that morning. "It's not chemical agents, there's not any unusual magic at work, no telepathic activity that I can tell, and it's not anything transdimensional ether." Twilight rubbed her forehead with frustration. "This only leaves a few possibilities left, but I need to have more information to be sure."

Twilight hid the checklist under one of the floorboards and left the library.

_"I needed to look at the town records and while they're normally available for the public, the types of records I needed to see, required special permission from the mayor herself."_  
Twilight approached the guard at the front door of the town hall. "State your order of business." the guard said gruffly.

"I need to speak to the mayor."

The guard shook his head. "Sorry. No one is allowed into the town hall without special clearance."

"Here. It's a level 1 security pass." Twilight handed the guard her pass card.

The guard looked at the card then at her. "Sorry. The card doesn't have the proper numbers needed to be allowed inside." The guard handed Twilight her card back.

"But I'm Celestia's student and the one of the bearer's of the elements of harmony. Surely you could let me see the mayor!" insisted Twilight.

"Sorry, but I've got my orders. No clearance, no access."

"I will be back soon with proper ID." Twilight grumbled as she left town hall and trotted to the guard house. On the way there Twilight started to feel sick to stomach and then a little woozy which forced her to sit at bench for a moment before it passed.

_"At first I thought it might have been a delayed reaction to the blood test. But now I'm not sure."_

Twilight entered the guard house and approached the mare at the front desk. "I need to get security clearance for the town hall please."

The guardsmare looked at the card Twilight handed her. Then she tore the card in two.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight said, shocked.

"Your name has been removed from the security detail in charge of the summit."

"On who's authority?!" growled Twilight.

"Why...Commander Tri-Star, of course."

Twilight's anger subsided when she realized who sent the order. Then it dawned on her. "The missing report… the headaches…denying the meeting with Rarity…it couldn't be could it?" she muttered under her breath.

"Are you okay? You look a little sick." The guard behind the desk said with concern.

"No…I'm fine. Thanks for informing me." Twilight left the guard house hurrying back home.

_"It was as I feared. It appeared that the Changelings may have returned to Equestria. Celestia said to trust my instincts if I sensed something wrong. But I wanted to be certain, so that night I broke into the town records office. There were a few traps in place to alert guards of a break in, but they were easy to avoid. I started as far back as the day of the wedding, since that was the first known appearance of them. It took several hours going over all sorts of records and reports, and then when I finally got to the day I left for the security meeting, I discovered something shocking. All pages after the date I left were completely blank! Security reports, train manifests, mail shipments…It didn't matter what records I looked in, there was not a single entry._

_I nearly gave up looking when I peered into the office trash bin. What I found in the trash bin did not answer everything but it did confirm my suspicions. With the badly burnt report I found, they have been analyzing and reanalyzing what I know about Cadance and the other delegates. There were also several mentions of receiving some messages from Canterlot but sadly that part was too charred to learn the details of the messages. I took the paper out of the trash bin and brought it with me back to my house._  
_When I made it back to my house I found it in state of disarray. Someone had broken into the library and ransacked the place while I was gone. If I had stayed at home that night they would probably have nabbed me. I stayed up for the rest of the night on guard in case they returned."_

* * *

"We have yet to search this part of the woods!" a voice shouted in the distance.

Twilight's ear perked at the noise and she quickly dimmed her horn light and again cast the life detecting spell. "There appears to be three ponies probably guards," she whispered to herself before turning off the recorder and putting it back in the pack. "I need to hide somewhere…"


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

Twilight looked about before spotting a dried creek bed deep enough to hide. The noises of the three were coming closer. After reaching the creek bed and hunkering down, Twilight turned off her horn light, enveloping herself in total darkness.

The sounds drew closer and the area was illuminated by one of guards who brought a lantern.

"Remember, she's dangerous. She's escaped us twice yesterday, so be ready to fight if we find her," one of the guards said.

Setting the lamp down the three of them walked around, examining the area for any sign that she was there. One of the guards walked over to the dry creek bed and stood just above where Twilight was hiding. He was just about to hop down when one of the other guards spoke.

"Okay, it's time to check out the next sector."

The trio gathered their lamp and left. Soon the forest was quiet again. Twilight got up from the creek bed and breathed a sigh of relief. She lit up her horn and set the cassette recorder down on the tree trunk, turning it on again.

"I'm back and still safe. The guards, if that's what they really are, did a sweep of this area and will probably not return, so I should still be safe here." she paused for a moment, trying to remember where she stopped. "By yesterday morning I was very tired, not only from the lack of good rest but also the sickness or whatever it is. It was getting worse. Anyway, this is unimportant compared to the rest of the events of yesterday…"

* * *

The train stopped at the Ponyville station unloading only a few passengers this morning. One of them though was a white unicorn wearing armor that showed the emblem of the Crystal Empire. "So this is the town my sister lives in. Looks nice."

Twilight, got up from the bench and quickly walked to him.

"Twilight!" The white unicorn exclaimed happily before noticing the grimace on his sister's exhausted face.

"Shining Armor, we've got a problem. I have to talk to you."

"It's good to see you too, sis," he mumbled sarcastically as they both left the station.

_"As soon as I got him to a place where nopony was watching, I explained everything that had transpired."_

"This is indeed serious." Armor said with grave concern.

"I would go to Celestia herself about this but what could I tell her? My friends are not acting like my friends? Tri-Star is making changes to the security arrangements, including my removal without informing me first? That my house had been searched last night? The only concrete proof that I have is a half-burnt piece of paper, and that's it." Twilight said with tired frustration.

"Would a detection spell discover any changelings?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. Once a changeling is already disguised, a detection spell would'nt discover the difference."

"I see," he said rubbing his chin.

"Yesterday you inspected the security arrangements of Canterlot. Did anything suspicious happen while you were there?"

"Tri-Star was'nt there yesterday. The second in command gave me the tour, which I found odd, but other than that no."

"Did you see Spike while you were there?" Twilight asked earnestly.

"Sorry, I did not. I thought he was here with you, Twily?"

"No, he's not," she said quietly.

"My wife is coming here in two days. I don't want her or the delegates anywhere near this place until we get this cleared up."

Twilight smiled with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Thanks."

"Go about your business. Don't do anything to get their attention. In the meantime, I'll do some investigating. If I can confirm your suspicions, we can go to Celestia together."

Twilight gave him a hug. "I'm glad to have you here, Shiny."

He hugged her back tightly before letting go. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

_"After this meeting, the sickness I felt went away. In fact, I felt better than I had for a long time. I finally had an ally. Now, all I had to do was wait. But after everything that had happened, waiting was something I could no longer afford. I had to cover my bets, gather more evidence to present to the princess, and prepare myself for whatever might happen next."_

"That audio recorder is twenty-four bits. Do wish to buy it?" The shop owner asked.

"Yes…yes I do." Twilight said, handing the cashier the amount.

"The odds are against you, Twilight," said the owner while tallying up amount.

Twilight tensed. "Against me? What are you talking about?"

The receipt printed out of the register. "You know what I'm talking about. You look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Twilight's horn started to glow, causing the shop owner to be lifted over the counter, bringing him face to face with the angry mare. "What are you talking about?!" Twilight growled.

"The cassettes! You can't record anything with it without buying a cassette! That's why the odds are against you."

Twilight's horn stopped glowing, letting the owner go.

"My, aren't we jumpy today? A cassette is ten bits."

"Fine." Twilight muttered handing the coins to the shop keeper.

"Here's your cassette and recorder. Hope you will feel better the next time you come here."

Twilight did not say anything as she gathered the two items and put them in the saddle pack. As she put the items away, she saw Fluttershy walking ahead of her. Twilight waited for her to be further down the street before stepping out of the shop and following her at a distance.

_"I followed her all the way to her house, hoping to gather any kind of information on what they may be planning. I didn't have to wait long before things got interesting."_

Fluttershy entered her cottage and soon Twilight started to hear voices inside the house.

Twilight crept closer to the house and finding window she peeked in. She could not see who Fluttershy was talking to but it sounded like Rarity.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes. Everything is ready," the other voice that sounded like Fluttershy said.

Twilight placed the tape recorder on the windowsill and turned it on.

"Good. All we have to do is wait for word from Canterlot, then we can proceed with the plan."

Twilight heard someone flying fast nearby, so she dove into the bushes just in time as a cyan Pegasus landed in front of Fluttershy's house before walking inside. Twilight got out of the bushes and got close to the window again.

"So no word from Canterlot yet."

"Nope. They're not ready up there yet. What I'm worried about is her; she's definitely suspecting something now. After I missed her at her house last night."

"We won't be able to do any…"

"No!" Twilight whispered as the three inside stepped into another room where the voices were too muffled to be heard.

_"Sadly, I was not able to listen in on the rest of their conversation, much less record it. I knew whatever their plans were, it was going to happen soon. So I left Fluttershy's home and started training myself for combat."_

Twilight stood out in a field not too far from Ponyville. She sat a book of combat magic on the ground and braced herself, aiming her horn at a tree branch. She concentrated on it, and suddenly a bolt of energy came shooting out of her horn, disintegrating the tree branch. She picked up the book again and started to read the next spell listed inside.

"Twilight."

She turned around and saw it was her brother.

"I'd like to talk to you, but not out here. Let's go to your house."

"Agreed." Twilight put her book in the saddle pack and led him back to her house.

"What did you find out?" Twilight asked as they both entered the house.

"First, I want to ask a few questions before I tell you. How much do you know about the other delegates? "Armor said shutting the door.

"Not much outside of the report I made about each of them. Why?"

"I'm just trying to get a clear picture on everything." Armor said reassuringly.

"Shiny, whatever they're planning, it's going to be soon. The messages mentioned in the paper. Were they really coming from Canterlot?" she asked hastily.

"As a matter of fact, they were," he replied.

"Then we need to talk to Celestia now! There's a breach in security and that's reason enough to cancel the summit. Let me grab a few things first, then we shall be on the next train for Canterlot."

Armor cleared his throat. "That still might be premature. I think we may want the meeting to continue."

His words shocked Twilight. "What are you talking about!? Your wife's life may be in danger and we've got more than enough…" Then realization struck her. "They got to you," Twilight said in a low voice.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just trying to-"

"No, they did. They got to you." Twilight started to back away from him, when she saw Pinkie Pie walk into the room from the basement stairs wearing an apron covered with dark brown stains. Twilight turned around to bolt for the door only to see Rarity and Applejack standing there blocking her path to the door. Applejack was holding some rope and Rarity was keeping her horn charged with some spell. Twilight moved away from them and looked back at her brother who was now flanked with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They were all starting to move in on Twilight.

"Who the hay are you?" she yelled.

"Don't worry Twilight, you will understand soon." said Shining Armor.

"We just need to have a little talk with you," said Rarity.

"Just come with us to the town hall," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight backed up into a wall as the six of them drew closer.

"Please don't fight us," said Fluttershy.

They were now just a few feet away. Twilight desperately looked for an opening to make a run for it but she found none. Pinkie stepped forward and reaching inside one of the apron pockets she pulled out a syringe that was full of some liquid. "Here, this will help you relax."

"NO!" Twilight yelled as she slapped the syringe out of Pinkie's hoof and charged. Breaking through the crowd, she galloped towards the stairs until Applejack tackled Twilight and wrapped the rope around Twilight's neck, putting her in a chokehold.

"We don't want to hurt you."

Twilight desperately tried to break free of the hold as her vision started to darken from the lack of air. Unable to break free, she closed her eyes and focused on her horn bathing the room with blindingly bright light. The six of them yelled in agony and the grip on the rope loosened just enough for Twilight to break free and run up the stairs to the library's living quarters.

She quickly grabbed a few items that were sitting on her bed and stuffed them into the saddle pack. She looked down and saw that some of them were recovering from the spell's effect. Pinkie Pie was already marching up the stairs. Twilight ran to the balcony and leaped off into the air. She hit the ground hard and heard a loud snap as pain shot up her right foreleg, Twilight struggled to get up, yelling in pain as she did, she saw two guards approaching. She used her horn again to cast a spell on the two guards, electrifying their armor. The guards fell to the ground writhing in agony, giving Twilight time to get up and run on the three good legs she still had.

She limped behind some buildings hoping to elude her pursuers when Sweetie Belle stepped out of the back door of one the shops.

"Sweetie Belle, are you okay?" she asked, gasping for breath.

"Uh…yeah." Sweetie replied.

"Good. Listen to me. Nothing is normal around here. Your sister, the others, something's happened to them. You and I are the only ones who can help."

Sweetie Belle backed away from Twilight. Then she took a deep breath and yelled, "SHE'S OVER HERE!"

Twilight limped away from her as fast as she could. She turned a corner and saw about several dozen guards rushing towards her. She turned around to get away only to see several more guards coming from the way she came. Twilight looked up into the sky and started to see a force field forming around Ponyville. She was effectively trapped! The guards encircled Twilight and Sweetie Belle stepped through the crowd of guards.

"It'll be okay. Just surrender to them and you'll be fine." she said. "Twilight it's over."

"This isn't over yet," said Twilight.

As the guards approached her cautiously, Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could.

When she opened them again she found herself in the Canterlot royal palace.

_"The teleportation spell worked. Now that I was safely in the walls of the palace I went to talk to the only pony I could still trust."_

"I'm sorry, but the Princess is not granting an audience today," said the guard by the door.

"She will see me," said Twilight moving past the guard.

"M'am, you can't go in there. M'am!"

Twilight swung open the door, entering the throne room. "Princess,I must speak with you!" Twilight yelled.

The guard walked next to Twilight. "I'm sorry, Princess. I tried to stop her from disturbing you. I'll take her away now."

"No. Don't bother. I shall speak with her. You may go." The white alicorn stepped out from behind a curtain and sat down on the throne.

"Yes, my liege." The guard bowed and left the room.

"Good afternoon, Twilight, how are things in Ponyville?" the Princess smiled, but it quickly faded when she saw all the scrapes and bruises on Twilight's body.

"You need medical attention Twilight. Let me summon a doctor."

Twilight shook her head. "No, not until I tell you what's going on. The changelings have returned and they have taken over Ponyville! We need to cancel the summit and stop them before they take over Canterlot too!"

The Princess just smiled and said, "My faithful student. Thank you for informing me of this. I need you to return to Ponyville now."

Twilight was startled by Celestia's strange answer. "Princess, you don't understand. They have TAKEN over Ponyville. This is an emergency!"

"I do understand the situation, Twilight, and it will be taken care of. But you need to return to Ponyville," the Princess said reassuringly.

"Princess, I wish to stay here! The changelings will strike here next!" Twilight said desperately.

Celestia gave an intimidating look, the sight of which sent a chill down Twilight's spine. "Twilight, I'm ORDERING you to return to Ponyville."

"CELESTIA PLEASE!"

"Return to Ponyville immediately. You will not be harmed."

"No. I will not." Twilight said defiantly.

"You have given me no choice. Guards, arrest my student at once!"

Two guards walked into the room and approached Twilight.

"You're not the Princess. Are you?!"

The guards grabbed Twilight, restraining her.

"Take her to the dungeon. I will see her shortly." the Princess commanded.

"I know about your plans! You won't win! You hear me! YOU WON'T WIN!" Twilight yelled as the two guards dragged her out of the room.

_"It seemed unbelievable to me that the princess herself had been replaced. Had they already infiltrated all of Equestria? Will they do the same to the Crystal Empire once they replace Cadance and the other delegates? Would there be a way to stop them without the elements of harmony? Those were the thoughts that swirled about in my mind as I was dragged through the palace halls. If there was going to be a fighting chance to stop their plans I needed to escape, but unfortunately, the last teleportation spell I did weakened me to the point where I thought best to try to escape by means other than magic. I didn't have to wait long to find an opportunity."_

The two guards dragged Twilight down a hall with a huge mirror on one side and a row of windows on the other. Twilight, with all her might, shoved hard into the guard on the left, causing him to crash into mirror, shattering it. Shards of glass rained down on the three of them. Twilight wrestled free of their grip. She then bucked the guard on the right, knocking him out the window. The other guard recovered from being slammed into a mirror and charged at Twilight. She quickly cast a levitation spell, lifting up a large shard of glass and throwing it at the guard, hitting him right between the eyes. He slumped to the floor, dead. She walked over to the window. Looking down she saw the other guard she bucked laying dead on the pavement below.

_"This was the first time I have ever taken the life of another. I thought I would have felt some remorse for killing both of them, but I don't feel any different…I felt only disappointment that the two dead guards did not turn out to be changelings in disguise. I knew I could not stay in Canterlot, but I couldn't escape with a fractured leg either so I devised a plan to smuggle myself out of the city by freight."_

Twilight lay quietly inside a box full of pears as it was loaded into the back of a cart.

"All right Sam, that's the last of 'em," said one of voices outside the box.

The cart started to move and soon reached the gate of the city when it stopped. "Halt. State the goods you're transporting out of the city," a gruff sounding guard spoke.

"I'm transporting food and supplies to Hoofington, it's a small village near Everfree."

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to search some of your goods, there's a fugitive on the loose and she's murdered two guards."

"Murder really? I can't remember the last time a murder happened around here."

Twilight tensed as she heard hoof steps trot to the back of the cart. The guard was starting to search through some of the boxes.

"What's in this box?" the guard asked while tapping on box. Twilight was starting to sweat.

"Just pears, sir."

"It's a bit of a large box to hold pears."

"I deliver a lot of pears."

"I need to open it." The guard started to remove the ropes holding the lid down.

Twilight readied herself to come out fighting; suddenly Twilight heard other hoof steps approach the cart.

"Frostfire, the Commander needs to speak with you. I'll take over your post,"

"Yes sir." The guard said before trotting away. She then heard the other guard trot back to the front of the cart.

"All right Mister Gruenwald, everything looks to be in order, you can go now."

The cart started to move again and Twilight breathed sigh of relief. She rested for several hours inside the box of pears and when she woke up from her nap, she lifted the box lid slightly, seeing that Canterlot was now far in the distance and that the Everfree forest was not far from the road.

"Well I guess this ride is over," she whispered to herself, pushing the lid off the box and climbing out.

"Hey what were you doing in-"

Twilight fired an ice spell at the pony but he dodged out of the way. Twilight tried to cast the spell again, but was tackled by the work pony. Twilight gave a swift kick which sent him sailing into the box of pears, smashing it open and spilling pears everywhere. Gruenwald laid unconscious among the pile of pears.

She sifted through some of the boxes, looking for supplies to take with her when she found a first-aid kit. Suddenly, she heard something snap in two. Turning to see what the noise was, she saw a wooden board right as it swung into her face, knocking Twilight out of the cart. "You're the murderer from Canterlot!" shouted Gruenwald in realization.

Twilight's fired her ice spell at him again, this time freezing him instantly. Retrieving the first aid kit she foun, she soon set about bandaging her fractured foreleg

"Thanks for the ride." Twilight thanked the frozen ice block that held Gruenwald before leaving for the forest as the sun set behind her.

* * *

"Sam must have thawed out sooner than I hoped, as the Canterlot guards have done a sweep of the whole forest. I guess they don't want loose ends wandering around in the woods. Hopefully the search for me has ended."

"In two days, Cadance will arrive in Canterlot for the peace talks and I plan on being there to stop them. I'm not going to let them destroy Equestria. I fear no evil. From this point forward, it's them or me." Twilight pushed the button on the tape recorder, turning it off. She looked off into the night sky and watched the stars before falling asleep.

_Two days later….._

Twilight woke up in bed coughing. As soon as it passed, she got up and looked out the window, watching the sun rise over the Canterlot skyline. She trotted over to the sink and splashed water on her face. She stared at the mirror for a moment, her tired and sickly face looking back at her. Sighing, she moved away from the mirror and reached inside her dirty and slightly torn saddle pack. Pulling out the audio cassette recorder, she sat it on the coffee table and turned it on.

"This shall be my final message, dear listener. Whether I'll live or die today, I will not return to retrieve this cassette. For most of yesterday I trained myself for combat. Then in the late afternoon I teleported back into Canterlot and broke into this book store. I had the shop owner close early – I have him bound and gagged in the closet since then. In six hours from now Cadance and her delegates will meet Princess Celestia for the peace talks. Last night I did some investigating on how the changelings might be planning to replace the delegates and I think I found a lead. The changelings that have been posing as my friends are here in Cantlerlot. They're currently residing at, of all places, my old house where I grew up in. I would've done more last night but my sickness returned worse than ever before. It feels almost like I'm lacking something. But whatever it is, it shall not stop me from saving Cadance's life. No matter what the cost I will protect her. My name is Twilight Sparkle, farewell."

Twilight turned the recorder off and gathered a few items before leaving the room.

-  
Twilight stood in front of her old home as happy memories of this place flashed through her mind, making her smile for a brief moment before returning to the situation at hand. She readied her horn, charging it up with a spell to be fired at a moment's notice. She approached the house, reaching the front door without being noticed. Twilight then looked through the front window and saw six ponies seemingly waiting around for someone in the living room.

"Strange, I thought they would have shifted back to their insectile form. I guess they don't want to be caught exposed," thought Twilight as she prepared to charge the door.

SMASH!

Twilight crashed through the door, startling everyone in the living room. "Nobody moves!"

Everyone in the room froze in place when they noticed that Twilight had a spell charged and ready to fire. Pinkie Pie stepped into the room from the kitchen with a partly cut apple in one hoof and a knife in the other.

"Drop the knife, Pinkie, or I will kill you!"

Pinkie Pie dropped the apple she was carving and the knife to the floor.

"Now sit with the others! DO IT!"

Pinkie sat quietly with the other six.

Tri-Star spoke up. "Twilight you don't understand. If you would just stand down and cancel whatever spell you just charged, we'll explain everything."

"No, I have a better idea: You shut up with your lies, and I ask the questions."

"He's not lying Twi. It's the honest truth," said Applejack.

"The truth? Hah. I don't think so."

Fluttershy started to cry. "P-please don't hurt us Twilight."

"Good…Good…Perhaps you will answer my first question. Now tell me how your Queen is planning to replace Cadance and the delegates?"

Shining Armor spoke calmly. "Everything you need to understand is beyond this door." Armor pointed a hoof towards a door at the end of the living room. It was the door to her old bedroom.

"This is another trick isn't it?!" Twilight turned her attention back to Fluttershy. "Now answer the question!"

Armor got up and started moving towards the door. "No. it's not a trick just let me-"

"Don't move."

Rainbow Dash spoke. "Listen to him! He's not your enemy. We're not your enemy."

"Shut up. You're just trying to confuse me."

Armor started moving towards the door again.

"I told you to stop!" yelled Twilight.

"Please! This will explain everything!" pleaded her brother.

"I don't want to hurt-"

Tri-Star fired a beam of energy from his horn. The force of the beam sent Twilight flying into the wall. before collapsing to the floor with a gaping wound to her chest. She was rapidly bleeding.

"DOCTOR, we need you!" Armor yelled out.

The bedroom door swung open and the doctor rushed into the room. He kneeled down by the bleeding pony and started examining her. The doctor then got back up and shook his head. "I'm sorry but her anatomy is already starting to shift. There's nothing I can do."

Spike walked out of the bedroom and looked at the body. "Wow, what a mess."

The doctor looked at Spike and asked, "Is she still stable in there?"

"Yes, she's still sleeping like-"

Wha-what's happing in here?" A pale, emaciated looking purple pony staggered in to the room.

"Twily, you should be in bed," Said Shining Armor with concern for his sister's poor health.

Twilight spotted the body of the purple mare lying on the floor.

"She…she looks just like me," She said stunned at the sight of dying pony before her.

"Apparently she thought she was you."

Twilight looked at Rarity, confused.

Then the doctor spoke. "There was no way to prove that she wasn't you either. She passed a blood test with flying colors."

She looked back at the body and saw a small green ember starting to burn away at the other Twilight's body.

"What is she?" Twilight said staring at the body, as the green ember started to travel up its body. Tri-Star cleared his throat.

"She's a changeling, Twilight, a shape shifter. The world has changed since you were trapped in the caves."

Twilight looked at the others in the room. "I would like to be alone with this other me."

"Are you sure, sugercube?" Applejack asked concerned.

"Yes I am. Now please all of you leave."

They all quietly left the house and waited outside. Twilight looked down at the body and saw that the green flames were burning away the other Twilight's purple coat, leaving behind an insectile looking shell. The flames were already halfway up its body.

The other Twilight coughed up blood and raised her head slightly.

"Twilight," the dying pony whispered.

"Yes?"

"Tell…them that I…"

Her head fell limp, as the last of her disguise burned away, leaving nothing but a dead body of a changeling.

Twilight look next to the body and noticed a shattered picture frame laying on the floor. Picking it up, she looked at the blood-smeared photo and saw it was of her and her family.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she quietly cried.

It's been a hard four weeks for Twilight Sparkle. She lost her brother, she disappointed her teacher and princess Celestia, she got sent to some caves by that evil lady that her brother is now married to, she nearly lost her mind and almost starved to death in the three weeks she was stuck there. Now after being rescued she's seen some creature called a changeling die before her very eyes by the very ponies she called friends. Her name is Twilight Sparkle and she has never felt more alone.


	3. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a cold hard rain in Ponyville. Twilight watched the rain from the library window, as she opened up a blank scroll and started to write.

Dear Princess Celestia

This will be my last report I'm sending to you as I will be leaving soon. I don't know if I can look at my friends the same after witnessing the death of the changeling that was posing as me from two weeks ago. I need some time to be alone. I'm not sure if or when I will return. I humbly request to step down from being one of the bearers of the elements. Thank you for being my teacher and I'm sorry I disappointed you.

Your troubled student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight put the scroll down on table and pulled out a piece of paper and started to write once more.

To everyone who reads this

I have left Ponyville and I may not return. After everything that's happened to me in the past month I need some time to be alone. I hope you all can respect and understand my decision for doing so.

To my friends

I'm leaving this note to thank all of you for all the good times I've had in the past two years. You've helped me discover how important it is to have friends. I hope all of you will stay as friends and serve the princess when needed. Thank you and farewell.

To Spike

I want to thank you for all your years of service. I guess in some ways you were like a younger brother to me. I hope that you will follow your dreams and don't let anyone stop you from achieving them. When you find this note, go upstairs and you shall see a rare blue garnet sitting on your bed. Think of it as a thank you gift. I hope you enjoy it.

To Doctor Richard Corby of Canterlot medical

I want to thank you for saving my life back at the caves. While I know I still have a long road to recovery I wish to do so in new surroundings. Thank you again and farewell.

To Commander Tri-Star of the Canterlot royal guard

I don't know who kidnapped me at the wedding, but I hope whoever it was will be found and brought to justice before they try again. Nevertheless I wish you luck in your new position as commander.

To my brother

I am sorry for accusing your wife of being evil. It was very rude and stupid of me. If you're still mad at me I understand. I hope the wedding was perfect like _she_wanted. I wish both you and your wife all the love and happiness in the world. Goodbye.

Twilight set the note down on the table next to the scroll and started to head for the stairs to begin packing when she heard someone knocking at the door. "Spike, can you let me in please?"

Twilight opened the door and saw that it was her brother standing out there in rain.

"Twily? What are you doing out of bed."

Twilight Sparkle stood silently in the doorframe.

"Could you let me in before we both catch a cold?"

"Yes…of course." Twilight she said cordially letting him inside and closed the door.

"Where's Spike? I thought he was taking care of you," said Shining, scanning the room for any sign of the dragon.

"He was taking care of me, but I told him to take the day off. He insisted on staying but I assured him that I would be okay."

Twilight handed him a towel to help dry him off. "I'm glad to see that you're able walk steady again. Are you able to take solid food yet?"

Twilight shook her head. "No not yet, I'm able to have cream soup though."

Shining handed the towel back to her. "Cadance and I will be staying in Ponyville for a few more days. She would like to come by and talk to you soon."

Twilight face darkened at the mention of Cadence's name. "I don't want to talk to her." She muttered taking a seat back on the couch.

Shining sat down next to her. "Twily, something's wrong, isn't there? You've hardly talk to anypony in the past two weeks."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I want to help, please tell me what's wrong."

Twilight suddenly exploded with anger ."I'll tell you what's wrong! You know who sent me into those caves? It was your wife! That vindictive shrew sent me into those caves to die! But since she is royalty there is nothing I can do about it. That's why I don't want to talk to her."

"Twilight…" Armor said calmly

Twilight looked away from her brother.

"…that lady was not my wife."

"What?" Twilight was stunned.

"She was a changeling, their queen in fact, she replaced my wife before you even arrived in Canterlot for the wedding. You and Cadance were both victims of Chrysalis's dark plans."

"So Chrysalis had me replaced at the wedding."

He nodded.

"The changeling that was posing as you was very convincing. She seemed to have all of your memories and personality. What finally tipped us off was when you were discovered in the caves."

"My friends then murdered her. That could have been me lying there instead of her."

"No they did not kill her. Tri-Star was the one that killed her. Don't worry, he is being investigated for excessive force, among a few other charges. Believe me, we tried our best to save her," he said trying to reassure her.

"So what happened?"

Shining got off the couch and went over to the window watching it rain. "When Tri-Star tried to shut her out of sensitive information, she became convinced that everypony was being replaced with changelings and tried to warn the Princess." He turned around to face Twilight. "In a strange sort of way, she died trying to be hero."

Twilight's expression changed slightly, looking not as depressed as it has been for the past few weeks. "Thank you for telling me this."

Twilight started to yawn.

"Would you like me to stay?"

"No. I'll be fine. I'll probably go back to bed now."

"Rest well, I'll visit you tomorrow." As Shining Armor left the library, it stopped raining and the sun started to shine through clouds.

Twilight got off the couch and went back to the table where she left the note and scroll. Picking up both items she trotted over to the library's fireplace and tossed them into flames. After watching them burn to cinders she went back upstairs and went to bed, finally feeling at peace with herself once again.

**Fin.**


	4. Author note and Special preview

**Hi everyone I hope you all enjoyed reading "Alone and on the run" it was a lot of fun to write and I can't thank EppogirlXD and Aktress enough for helping me with it. As a bonus for everyone that has read this story I've added an excerpt for a new fanfic that's coming soon called "Mirrors and Memories". It's still very much wip but steady progress is being made on it. with that being said. on to the preview.**

* * *

Applejack, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all waited in the hospital's waiting room. Sweetie Belle looked at the clock it was six twenty three. "They have been in there for several hours now. Why haven't they told us anything yet?"

Rarity put down the magazine she was reading. " I don't know but this is the fourth time I've read this beauty magazine."

Applejack looked at the time as well. "Well… we do know it has something to do with some sort of magic. Since they told Fluttershy to get that book."

"Perhaps the doctor was bored and needed something to read. Right Spike?" interjected Pinkie Pie. Spike didn't say a word and sat quietly writing stuff down in the notepad.

Fluttershy started to speak with worry in her voice "Um… I think the doctor hasn't talk to us yet cause our friends might be.." Fluttershy did not have to finish her sentence for the others to understand what she was implying.

Rarity leaned over to where Sweetie Belle was sitting "Sweetie Belle why not go and play with some of your school friends."

Sweetie shook her head "No I want to stay here and find out if Scootaloo and Applebloom are going to be alright."

Rarity sighed "I'll let you know as soon as I learn something. Please let us take care of this."

Sweetie Belle pouted for a moment "Fine! I'll go. I have things I need to do anyway." grumbled Sweetie Belle leaving the hospital

" I don't want her here if things turn out that way." the others grimly nodded in agreement.

Dr. stable reentered the room with the book open "Nurse has there been any change?" Tenderheart shook her head "not since you left."

"Good. I found the spell that's at work here." he said pointing to the page the book was open to. "The spell in question is supposed to be used for deep psychological examinations mainly for things like deep seated fears or repressed memories and so on. I did some research and found that this spell has been removed from most modern medical textbooks due to dangerous side effects. Why Twilight was casting this spell I don't know." Stable's horn started to glow. "It appears to be mostly concentrated on rainbow dash. Nurse I'm going to need you to keep a constant watch for any kind of distress as it's going to take my complete and total concentration to reverse this spell."

* * *

The three pegasi entered down the hall trying to avoid some of the low hanging pipes as they walked. "Lets try to get some rest tonight, as we need to conserve our strength for tomorrow's plan." said Twilight "Right." agreed Scootaloo and Dash they went further down the hall each time stopping a bedroom door with their "name" on it.

Soon Rainbow Dash was the only one left in the hall eventually finding the door with Silver Needle's name on it she entered the room finding it fairly bare bones. The only real furniture in the room was the bed across from the bed was a small bathroom. Dash went to the sink and started to fill it with water. She splashed her face with water to help relax. She was quite worried about the whole thing. Being trapped in the past in a place that shouldn't exist where they force workers to make rainbows and seeing things that are there one minuet and are gone the next. It all seamed to have some connection to the dream she had earlier today. She decided to splash her face again.

* * *

Dr. Stable stood next to Rainbow Dash's bed "Nurse Is everything ready?" "Yes doctor. Everything is ready." responded the nurse  
"Good let's begin." the doctor closed his eyes as his horn glowed brightly.

* * *

Rainbow Dash started feeling intense pressure in her head as she stumbled out of the bathroom. The bedroom started to look different as her vision started to blur. The floor appeared to melt away leaving behind grated flooring and the walls seem to take on the appearance of rusted steel. the pressure in her brain became too great and she collapsed to the floor unconscious.


End file.
